I Know (posting version 2)
by TheLoneRebels 2.0
Summary: After Ahsoka left the Order, she turned to Lux for comfort and the love they had for each other blossomed quickly. Fed up with all the Jedi poodoo, Anakin takes matters into his own hands and starts a domino effect that will change everything. Fluff and eventual lemons.
1. Not Optimistic

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****A/N: Surprise! After months of neglecting many of my stories while I concentrated on only a few, the guilt of abandoning them has finally done me in. Which means that I'm going to put ALL 13 of my WIPs back in an equal rotation.****

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****I Know****

****Not Optimistic:****

__D83/20 BBY, Onderon__

When Lux Bonteri, youngest ever Senator of Onderon, saw on the news that his very good friend, Ahsoka Tano, had been accused of bombing the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and striped of her status as a Jedi, he almost dropped the glass of water he was chugging as his fingers suddenly lost all feeling.

__No way in the Corellian Hells would Ahsoka do that!__

His elegantly shaped eyebrows furrowed nearly together at his next thought. __How come the Jedi Council is throwing one of the best of their own under the proverbial transport?__

After watching the news just long enough to hear that Ahsoka's trial was being held first thing in the morning today, Coruscant time, Lux dashed out of the training gym in the basement of his mansion near the capital city of Iziz and up four flights of stairs to get to his suite on the top floor. He showered and changed in record time and was in his personal ship in ten minutes flat, anxiety riding him hard.

The flight from Onderon to Coruscant was only a few hours long, but it felt like an eternity to the young man. Lux knew there was no possible way for him to get there in time for the beginning of the trial, but he hoped he might get there before the end.

As soon as he was on route, dashing along the first of a few different hyperlanes that would take him to his destination, Lux commed the only person he knew of that might actually answer him AND know what was going on.

A hologram of his late mother's friend, Padmè Amidala, appeared a few moments later, moving as if she was walking. She looked stressed, despite her efforts at appearing calm and in control. "Good morning, Lux. Now's not a good time. I have to be in court in five minutes."

__Poodoo. It's happening already! __

Somehow, Lux kept his expression from showing the worst of his distress. "My apologies, Padmè. I just heard about Ahsoka on the news. Please. Just tell me. Does she stand a chance of being cleared of the charges?"

Padmè's expression turned to deep regret, which filled him with dread. "I honestly don't think so. The evidence against her is overwhelming. I'll do my best, but..."

Lux felt like he couldn't breathe. __Ahsoka might die..__. He knew the punishment for multiple murders could be as harsh as execution. And for someone accused of bombing the Jedi Temple and killing fellow Jedi...

Feeling lightheaded, he gulped in air and got it together. Sort of. "I'm on my way. Can you please… just tell her that?"

The beautiful Senator of Naboo gave him a sympathetic look that the faint blurriness of the holo image couldn't disguise. "I will, Lux, if I can. I'm going to stall as long as I can anyway. Anakin's out there right now, trying to find the real culprit. I'm going to give him as much time as I can get away with."

Lux felt a smidgeon of hope again. __If anyone can make things happen, it's Skywalker and Padmè. I doubt there are two more determined people in the galaxy__. "Thank you, Padmè. I'll be there in a few hours."

The woman nodded once and the hologram disappeared. Lux slumped in his seat and stared out at the blue and white of hyperspace blankly. He considered Ahsoka to be one of the best friends he'd ever had, but he knew their friendship could easily have been so much more if she wasn't a Jedi. In a rather large corner of his heart, he knew he'd loved her since the first day he met her, but he'd made that corner stay silent so as not to put any pressure on her, even though she'd shown a few hints of returning his feelings.

Now that corner was whimpering in pain, knowing the person who suited him best was facing a terrible time in her life and he wasn't there to support her.

Even though it wasn't his fault, since he couldn't have known unless someone had thought to comm him about what was happening to Ahsoka, Lux felt like scum.

* * *

_Coruscant..._

A flicker of a smile came and went as Padmè tucked her holo device into a hidden pocket in her robe. __I hope Lux gets here in time; Ahsoka could really use his support after all of this over. __

The friendship between the two teenagers had always made her smile and secretly hope that it might turn into something more, even though she knew she shouldn't. The harsh reality was that it was hard enough for Anakin to hide a relationship. Ahsoka's much more open personality would find it almost impossible, and she'd quickly find herself severely chastised, if not expelled, from the Order.

Padmè sighed as she remembered the sad truth that that had already occurred, but never for a reason you would expect.

The beautifully dressed and coiffed senator came to a stop outside the door to the tribunal chamber, waiting for her signal to enter and take her place as Ahsoka's defending voice. A million thoughts were trying to take precedence in her mind, but the one that dominated the most was Ahsoka's defeated words as she huddled in on herself, just before the troopers had come and taken her from her cell:

__"Forgive me if I'm not optimistic. I thought I was part of the Order. I thought they were my family. But everyone except Anakin has abandoned me. And I'm not holding out much hope the Senate will treat me any better."__

As she waited, it was all Padmè could do not to shed tears of abject sorrow for her young friend who refused to cry for herself. __Ahsoka should have been supported by the Order, not thrown out of it! She never should have had to run to the depths of Coruscant. She never should have had to team up with Ventress just to survive. She should never have to stand trial for crimes I'm positive she didn't commit. My husband's Padawan is the sweetest, most caring being I've ever met.__

Padmè sniffed discreetly, forcing back the impending waterworks out of sheer willpower alone. __Ahsoka is also one of Anakin's very few sources of calm and joy in an ever increasingly tumultuous war. He needs her. As much as I hate to admit it, Anakin needs that girl in his life every bit as much as he needs me. __

__More now than ever, really, since Anakin is finding it harder and harder to trust Obi-Wan.__

Padmè couldn't blame him. The unacknowledged discord between them had started years ago, when Obi-Wan hadn't listened to Anakin about the awful visions of his mother's fate. But it had gotten much worse lately, what with the Jedi Master faking his death and letting Anakin believe it, and now supporting the Council - or at least not openly standing against them - in their decision to expel Ahsoka from the Order. She knew it was killing him, too, because her Ani loved his former Master like a brother, and he couldn't understand why Obi-Wan seemed so determined to throw proverbial stones at their bond.

She startled slightly as a small chime sounded and the silent and motionless Coruscant Guard in white and red armour standing by the door nodded respectfully and pressed the button to open it for her.

Smiling briefly in thanks, Padme took in a deep breath, calming herself, and walked forward, ready to make this farce of a trial last as long as possible so that Anakin had as much time as she could give him to come up with a miracle.


	2. The Hunt

**The Hunt:**

_Coruscant..._

Anakin left the Republic military base at a jog, heading for his speeder. He needed to find Ventress and he needed to find her NOW. He knew she wouldn't be on one of the upper levels, so the first thing he did was fly down the closest massive shaft into the bowels of Coruscant. And down. And down a little further, just for good measure.

Then he came to an illegal stop near the level where they'd found Ahsoka, closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Force. It was Dark and malevolent down here, but Anakin didn't flinch from it. He used it instead, feeling like it suited his mood perfectly. Obi-Wan would be appalled, but Anakin found that he cared less and less what Obi-Wan thought as the days went by. (At least, that's what he told himself so he could occasionally sleep at night.)

Calling up repugnant memories of how Ventress' Force signature felt, he searched for it, sending out his senses in ever widening sweeps.

A fraction of a smirk curled his upper lip when he found her. _Gotcha, you freaky looking bitch. _ He drove down two more levels and then up a main roadway for three minutes, following her powerful and strangely confused signature. He pulled into a market place parking lot, screeched to a stop, and then burst into a swirl of motion. As he ran, startling pedestrians, he pulled on his hooded robe. A few seconds later, the vengeance-minded Jedi turned and sprinted down an alley, leapt up onto a rooftop, jumped across to another, and so on, his blood thumping through his veins with the exhilaration of the hunt.

One minute later, he dropped down in front of his prey where she stood on a narrow platform. The muted lighting down here did absolutely nothing to improve her looks. If anything she looked even more like a figure from childhood nightmares. One of his most hated enemies didn't seem surprised to see him. _Pity._

"Skywalker," her less than dulcet tone said mockingly. "What a surprise."

He snarled, unimpressed that she seemed to be expecting him; he hadn't exactly been hiding his signature as he pursued her. "I know you're behind all this." _Setting up my precious Snips! _Then, his rage riding him hard, he attacked her, oblivious to the fact that she was weaponless.

"Prove it," she spat. Ventress picked up a couple of pipes and did her best to defend herself, but Anakin was in no mood to play. He swung at her viciously with his lightsabre, the blue glow illuminating the area and hissing menacingly through the air. Her metal pipes were taken care of quickly. "Leave me alone," she cried as her last defence was sliced through and thrown away.

Anakin more or less growled like a rabid mooka as he flung her back against a wall with a push of the Force, leaving a dent in the bricks, and then he pulled her forward again and wrapped his hand around her throat, squeezing just enough to cut off her air. She gasped and choked in his hold while something dark in Anakin thrilled at finally putting this witch in her place after she'd given him the scar over his eye and taunted him repeatedly in further interactions while never really giving him the chance to prove that he was better than her now. "Tell me what happened!" he demanded, loosening his fingers just enough so she could.

Ventress looked at him with something that wasn't quite fear, but might have been the beginnings of respect, covered in a thick layer of scorn. "When I heard your little rat was on the run I thought she might bring a large bounty."

"Bounty?" he hissed, extremely displeased with the idea of Ahsoka being hunted by bounty hunters. He held his lightsabre to her neck, eyes narrowed in hate.

Ventress gasped and paled, spitting out words as fast as she could, even dropping her mental shields so he could feel her sincerity. "I was going to catch your pet and turn her over to the authorities. Collect whatever bounty was due."

As much as he was reluctant to do so, Anakin let her go as he felt the truth of her words. She honestly didn't seem to be involved in the original bombing. He sucked in a breath as a modicum of reason returned to his frantic mind. "What stopped you?"

Ventress straightened her clothes like getting beat up was a regular occurrence for her. "At first, I admit, I was just interested in the money and a little bit of revenge. But then I realized your fallen Padawan and I have a lot in common."

The rage returned in an instant from the place where it bubbled just beneath the surface of his emotions more often than not lately. "How dare you compare yourself to Ahsoka!" _My Snips is nothing like you lying, murdering, Sith wannabee snake of a female!_

"It's true!" she practically yelled right in his face, making him rear back in shock. "My Master abandoned me and that's exactly what you did to her. You and your precious Jedi order." Anakin's first thought was outright denial. _I didn't abandon Ahsoka! I would never! I fought for her with the Council. Fought for her with Obi-Wan. Done everything I could to get her out of a cell as fast as possible. And I'm still fighting for her!_

But Ventress' words had struck a tender chord and it made him wonder. _Could I have done more? Tried harder to find her? It's not like I couldn't track her down if I really really wanted to; our bond made sure of that. _

_But she didn't seem to want me to find her. _What had been a small comfort now just felt hollow and stupid.

_Maybe I could have hidden her. Gotten her off planet until the real culprit was found. Maybe if I had, she wouldn't be expelled from the Order right now. _He'd felt her pain as if it was his own when the Council threw her out and he knew that had been beyond devastating to her. (It was devastating to him too.) _My poor little Snips._

He turned his focus back on the Dathomirian witch. "Explain to me what happened two nights ago. Ahsoka thinks you attacked her in the warehouse. I need to know how you're involved in all this," Anakin asked, sort of nicely.

Ventress huffed at him, but thankfully for her sake didn't give him any more reasons to want to kill her at the moment. "At first, I thought I'd caught myself a good bounty. Then we talked for a few minutes and I found myself wanting to help your pet instead. We were caught by a squadron of your clone troopers, but we took care of them, without..." and she rolled her eyes at this, "…killing any, because Tano asked my not to. We then travelled to a warehouse and she said she'd be all right, so I left her. I actually feel bad for that, now."

Now Anakin was rolling his eyes. _As if._

"After I left the warehouse, after I left your little Padawan alone, I was walking away, and I thought she came up behind me to talk more. But I was wrong. Someone came from out of nowhere and hit me from behind. Not just anyone can sneak up behind me. It had to be another Jedi."

This rubbed Anakin the wrong way (something she was very good at doing). He snarled out, "I don't believe you."

She snarled right back. "Believe it. Whoever you're looking for has my lightsabres. That's how you'll know you've found the criminal."

_What? _Anakin actually looked her over for the first time and was surprised to not see them on her belt. Nor could he feel the lightsabres anywhere near her. In fact, he couldn't sense the sad whimper of their Kyber crystals at all. Anakin actually felt a very brief moment of pity for her; being parted with one's lightsabre was never pleasant, even if she had perverted her crystals, they were still bonded to her.

His shoulders sagged as he propped his forearms against a rusty railing and stared blankly into the perpetual night of the Coruscant underworld. "Well, this leads me to a dead end. You're the only one Ahsoka talked to." Even he could hear the defeat in his tone.

He sensed her presence startle a little from where she was leaning on the other railing. "That's not true."

Anakin whirled around. "Whatayamean?" His words came out so fast, he lost the ability to separate them.

Ventress almost looked at him with sympathy. He wasn't sure if he wanted it. "Your Padawan contacted the Temple. She spoke to someone named... Barriss. That's why we went to the warehouse in the first place. It was this Barriss that told us to go there."

Anakin sucked in a breath at the continued truth he felt in her words. _Do I finally have the lead I need to solve this? _

_If so, please, Force, let it be in time._

Narrowing his eyes at her one more time - just because he couldn't possibly let them end a discussion on a relatively amicable note - he warned, "If you're lying, you're dead."

As he jumped off the platform, he heard her laugh. "Such promises."

Anakin snorted as a begrudged fraction of respect for the vile woman passed through him. _I have to admit that she does have spirit. I wonder what she would have been like if she'd been trained in the Temple instead of by Dooku? Would she actually have been a friend?_

_Kark, I hope not. _

He shuddered and perished the thought to the furthest corners of his mind, never to be found again.

* * *

Seven and a half traffic law defying minutes later, Anakin pulled up to the Jedi Temple as close to Barriss' quarters as he could get away with. He still had to navigate half a dozen hallways and a few million steps, but he jumped those, and sprinted to her door, ignoring the surprised exclamations from anyone he happened to pass.

Taking a deep breath (or five), he calmed his racing heart and Force signature and knocked on the door.

"Enter," came the placid voice of Padawan Offee from within. For the first time, Anakin realized he hadn't even thought to wonder if she'd even be in her quarters. _Thank the Force for small miracles._

He entered, the personification of calm curiosity. _Obi-Wan's not the only one who can act their ass off. _ "Barriss, I need to talk to you."

She rose gracefully from her meditation pose and faced him. _She always had seemed like the perfect little epitome of a Jedi. How appearances could be deceiving. _"Master Skywalker. How can I help you?"

Anakin glanced around her small, austere chamber and called her lightsabre to his hand from the little table it lay on. He found that one little mistake a very interesting tell. It should have been attached to her belt so as to keep the Kyber crystal as close to her person as possible. (Most Jedi didn't even like to take them off to go to sleep, but they did anyway for the sake of comfort. He, like many, slept with his under his pillow.) He opened his shields slightly and felt the Kyber crystal in it. It sang happily enough, like a true Jedi's crystal should, but there might have been an undertone of concern in the song. He ignored how much his own lightsabre sang the same song of concern and instead focused on the familiar feel of Ventress' lightsabres. He wasn't surprised when he felt them near.

Now he just needed her to confess so the open comm link in his pocket could record it.

On the way, Anakin had called one of the two unbiased people he could think of who wasn't already in the tribunal. The first was Rex, but he knew Rex was on a scheduled rest period and didn't want to disturb him. (His friend got so little down time as is.) Instead, he called Lux Bonteri. Anakin hadn't been surprised to find out that Lux was on his way. Instead, he'd actually felt guilty for not thinking of the boy sooner and informing him of Ahsoka's predicament and had apologized for the oversight; he knew very well how much his Snips and Lux cared for each other. Lux, being the truly nice person that he was, had said not to worry about it. Now he was making a recording of everything Barriss said over the comm link for evidence against her.

Anakin played it cool to the best of his ability. "I was told that you spoke with Ahsoka before she was arrested. What did you say to her?"

"We've been friends for a long time," Barriss evaded. "I was only trying to help her. I hope I'm not in any trouble."

Anakin huffed mentally. _Smart little chicky, isn't she?_ "It's no trouble. I just need to know what you told her and if you told anyone else."

"No. I thought I had a clue for her, but I really couldn't tell her anything."

_Evasions again. Grrrr_. He stayed silent and hoped she'd volunteer something useful for him to work with.

"Who told you I spoke to her?"

_Gotcha. _Anakin brought out his trump card. "Ventress. She told me." Barriss' eyes widened fractionally, but that was the only sign she was alarmed. _Yeesh, this girl is good._

"Ventress. Isn't she the one Ahsoka says is really behind all this?"

Anakin couldn't help but notice she was trying (and failing) to unobtrusively shuffle closer to the door and the ceramic pot on the floor he could feel Ventress' lightsabres hiding in. Still nothing useful in regards to a voiced confession, but he could feel her resolve gathering in the Force. _Looks like I might have to go with plan B. _

_I like plan B better anyway, _he thought as a thrum of anticipation surged through his veins. It was getting harder to act calm, but he persevered. "That's what Ahsoka says, but I think she's wrong. Ventress thinks someone else is involved."

"And you believe her? Who else could it be if not her? Surely not Ahsoka?"

Anakin pretended to study her lightsabre nonchalantly. "No. I don't think it was Ahsoka either. I think both Ahsoka and Ventress were telling the truth. But... there's only one way to find out." To the familiar sound of a snap-hiss, he lunged at the lying Padawan who'd put his Snips in danger and attacked her with her own lightsabre.

The sense of vindication he got when she summoned Ventress' lightsabres from the pot was almost climactic. He curled his lip at her as the two red lightsabres sizzled against her own blue one. "Funny," he growled in anything but an amused tone. "Those belong to Ventress. You should have gotten rid of them."

"I think they suit me," she taunted back.

_They do now, you murderous, lying, traitorous piece of poodoo. _

Anakin swung at her again.

* * *

_Space…_

Lux sat in his ship with wide eyes, barely breathing, and body as tense as a board as a series of lightsabre hisses, grunts, and crashes took up the next few minutes as he listened to the battle via what he assumed was Anakin's pocket. This wouldn't be his first choice of how he found out how things were going, but it wouldn't be his last either. He wished he had a visual to go with the racket and muttered curses, but he figured he could make do with his imagination.

They didn't talk much, but he did hear Anakin call out, "Ahsoka trusted you and you betrayed her!"

_And oh, is that ever going to hurt my poor Soka when she finds out. _Lux wanted a turn with the Mirialan too, if there was any way to do it without getting his own ass handed to him instead. (He'd been training his arse off to get stronger ever since Gerrera had called him a useless, good-for-nothing, pansy assed politician after Steela had died - including martial arts lessons three times a week - but that still wasn't going to beat a trained Jedi, even if they didn't have the Force at their beck and call.)

Barriss replied with an equally venomous, "I've learned that trust is overrated. The only thing the Jedi council believes in is violence."

_Ouch. That hits a little too close to home right now. _

He heard another lightsabre igniting and more clashing and banging and the faint sound of dancing footsteps.

"Cease hostilities," also came over the comm at some point in the background more than once. Lux figured that must be the Temple guards. He'd seen them once or twice. They were intimidating looking, but he'd always likened them to statues; there to be seen but not really do anything. _Apparently they actually moved. Or at least talked. Good to know._

"Barriss!" Anakin yelled next, making Lux wince when he got some feedback from it. That was almost instantly followed by the sound of breaking glass. Now Lux was left wondering what had been broken. _Kriff, I wish I was seeing this. Need a holo camera on Skywalker's tunic or something. _

More grunting and fighting sounds. Then Lux winced in sympathy as it sounded like Anakin was falling down a flight of stairs if the sounds of bodily thumps and the odd grunt were any indication.

The voice of a boy yelled, "Look out!" and the duel was back on, lightsabres whizzing through the air and clashing like multiple lightning strikes once again. _Wow. This has to be one hell of an epic fight._

Finally, the battle seemed to end as Anakin growled out, "You're under arrest, Barriss Offee. You're going to regret ever framing my Padawan. I wish you could experience everything my Snips went through, but I'll have to settle for seeing you rot in a cell for the rest of your life, IF the Senate decides to let you live."

Lux felt a chill run down his spine at the pure hate he heard from Anakin. _Not a man you want to get on the bad side of, that's for sure._

He listened to the sound of marching feet for a minute before Anakin's hologram appeared. "Thank you, Lux. That should be good enough, I hope."

Lux smiled wanly. "I would imagine so. I should arrive within the hour and will bring the recording with me."

The Jedi Knight nodded slightly, still looking like he wanted to beat someone up to a pulp. "If this goes the way it should, you'll find us at the Temple. Ask for me and someone will get you wherever I am."

Lux's smile became a fraction more real. "Thank you, Master Skywalker. See you soon."

Anakin made a sad attempt at returning the smile through his tense expression and then the hologram disappeared.

The stressed Onderonian senator leaned back in his chair and sighed in relief. _Thank kriff. The real culprit's been caught. Ahsoka should be safe now._

_Still can't believe that it's another Jedi, though. And one of Ahsoka's best friends. This could only hurt her more if it was Rex or Anakin who set her up for the fall. _

_Frag. Poor Soka. _

He closed his eyes and just processed as all of the emotions of the last couple hours left him feeling exhausted. Until Skywalker had commed him, Lux had spent his flight imagining all the dreadful things Ahsoka must have gone through, and was undoubtedly going through right now in her public trial. He couldn't even begin to guess how she was feeling at the moment. Until Anakin arrived at the Tribunal with Barriss, Ahsoka would be under the impression that she was doomed. _My poor, poor precious girl._

Lux's heart was still breaking for her and all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right. That he'd make sure that everything would be all right from now until the end of eternity. _And maybe, if the opportunity presents itself, I'll tell her that I love her. Life is so short; why am I wasting it just being friends with the person I adore more than life itself? _

_She might turn me down, but at least I'll have tried._

He didn't care if she was a Jedi or not, whether it was forbidden or not, he felt like she needed to know that someone loved her. It felt vitally important right now, like maybe the Force was telling him that Ahsoka needed the words from him. (Or anyone, but from him would be nice.)

_At least now, thanks to Skywalker's determination, there's a really good chance of that happening._


	3. Bittersweet Freedom

**Bittersweet Freedom:**

Ahsoka knew her farce of a trial would haunt her nightmares for years to come (assuming she lived out the week). Every word spoken was already ingrained in her memory. And it wasn't over yet.

It had started with Palpatine, of course. And he'd made her skin crawl, as usual. _I still don't know how Anakin can stand to be in his presence so often; he's such a creepy old Human. _

"Ahsoka Tano." He'd said her name like he was looking at scum on the bottom of his shoe. The Chancellor had never been particularly nice to her, but it was so much worse now that he had a valid excuse to treat her like a suspicious lifeform from the lowest levels of Coruscant. "You have been charged with sedition against the Jedi Order and the Republic itself. This court will decide your fate. Prosecution, you may begin your arguments."

Tarkin, that backstabbing sleemo, was representing the Prosecution. She'd wanted to bare her fangs at him when she'd seen him emerge opposite Padmè. _How quickly he managed to forget how often Anakin or I had saved his life._ "Former Padawan Tano. I shall prove that you were the mastermind behind the attack on the Jedi Temple. And that once your accomplices carried out your orders, you eliminated them one by one. When you are found guilty, I ask the court that the full extent of the law be brought down upon you. Including penalty of death."

Ahsoka had looked at Padmè in shock at that. No one had said execution was a possibility. _I suppose they had been trying to save me some anxiety, but is finding out this way any better?_

Anakin's secret mate had done her absolute best to defend Ahsoka. _The woman really is a saint. No wonder Anakin loves her so much; she deserves all the love the galaxy has to offer._

She had talked for as long as she could and presented what little evidence they had regarding her innocence, buying time for Anakin to find the real culprit, but her closing point had been particularly poignant. During her speech, Ahsoka had refused to look at the Council in their chairs high above her, including Masters Kenobi and Koon. Her father figure Masters had both been trying to send her comfort through the Force, but Ahsoka had blocked them out, and was still blocking them out, still feeling horribly betrayed by the Council's decision to expel her from the Order and allow her to be tried as a Republic citizen. She had heard some of the Council shuffle a little in shame at what was transpiring and felt their unease in the Force, which she made a note to herself to thank Padmè profusely for later. _At least I'll go out making some of them feel guilty._

"Look at the facts," Padmè had pleaded. "Letta Turmond called Ahsoka to her cell to reveal the name of the true mastermind of the bombing of the Jedi Temple. Letta told Ahsoka she was afraid. She told her the mastermind was a Jedi. And before she could reveal the Jedi's name, Letta Turmond was strangled to death by way of the Force. Why would Ahsoka kill Letta with a method that would so obviously tie the murder to her? A Jedi may be responsible for the murder, but that Jedi is not Ahsoka Tano. Members of the court; you are prosecuting the wrong Jedi."

_If only most of the people here had actually believed those words. _

That brought Ahsoka to the moment she was actually in.

Silence had reigned over the tribunal chamber for a solid half minute - broken only by breathing, a few people fidgeting as they looked at their neighbours, and one unfortunately loud and ill-timed sneeze - during which tine her mind had flashed back through the proceedings so far, and then Tarkin was applauding Padme mockingly, each clap of the hands ringing through her montrals as it echoed around the vast, box-like chamber.

_I wish a bucket of the stinkiest possible bantha fodder would magically fall on his head. He so deserves it. _

"Well said, Senator Amidala. However, if she is innocent, then why was she seen conspiring with the main Separatist terrorist, Asajj Ventress?"

Even though she wasn't supposed to speak unless addressed, Ahsoka just couldn't stay quiet any longer as all of her frustration and accumulated exhaustion ran away with her mouth and Jedi discipline. "Ventress set me up! My Master will prove that." _I hope. Please hurry, Master. _

Tarkin looked at her with a mockingly raised brow. "And where IS your Master?"

"He's trying to find the real murderer!" Ahsoka cried, only half a suppressed growl away from stomping her foot like youngling.

The sharp faced Human sneered at her. "Then maybe he should be looking at you."

_No. No, no, no. _Ahsoka's world fell out from under feet as she felt the majority of the people in the room agree with that statement. She glanced at Padmè helplessly. The Senator looked back at her with sorrow and apology, the thought, 'I'm so sorry. I really did my best,' easy to read in her eyes.

Feeling utterly defeated, the disgraced girl could barely stand as days of stress worse than even the time she'd been hunted for sport caught up with her. She shrank into herself as much as she could, wishing her hands weren't bound before her so she could hug the sudden chill out of her body with her arms, and kept head bowed towards the floor as the Chancellor made the closing statement. She tried not to hear him, but his biting words made their way into her montrals anyway to reverberate along with the lingering (imaginary) echoes of Admiral Tarkin's mocking applause.

"I'm sure many of you look at this former Jedi and think, surely she cannot be this murderer or saboteur that they speak of. And yet, think of all the times we have been fooled by the Separatists and how they have infiltrated the Republic and ask yourself; is this another Separatist scheme? Another way to rip the Jedi, and subsequently all of us, apart?" Palpatine paused for dramatic effect and then finished with, "The decision is yours, fellow members of the Senate. Please vote now."

Ahsoka counted the seconds while the votes were cast on datapads.

It was only fifty seconds before she heard the voice of the lead Senator on the jury announce loudly, "The members of the court have reached a decision." _Fifty measly seconds._ _This was just as bad as the trial before the Jedi council. And that was a complete mockery of the word 'trial'. Did they even bother to think?_

Palpatine's glee was nearly palpable as he looked down on her and said her name, once again giving the impression it was something dirty in his mouth. "By an overwhelming count of..."

Suddenly, a door to the chamber opened behind her, and Anakin's voice rang through the room. "Chancellor!"

Ahsoka startled, because she hadn't felt him coming, which was pathetic, considering he was almost literally glowing with pissed off triumph in the Force and their bond was usually much better at alerting her than that. But she was admittedly shutting herself off from everyone so it hurt less, which meant that Anakin had been able to sneak up on her.

Now she spun around to look at her Master with desperate hope in her eyes. Anakin glanced at her, sending a tidal wave of reassurance at her through their bond. _Oh, thank Force. He's found something to save me._ The band that had been squeezing around her chest loosened and Ahsoka felt like she could breathe again.

Chancellor Palpatine wasn't happy, to put it bluntly, to lose his moment to gloat over Ahsoka's disgrace. He threw a barely disguised glare at Anakin. "I hope you have a reason for bursting into our proceedings, Master Skywalker."

Anakin levelled Palpatine with a determined stare of righteous victory. "I'm here with evidence and a confession from the person responsible for all the crimes Ahsoka's been accused of."

The Temple Guards following Anakin moved to reveal the culprit and Ahsoka gasped quietly. _No! It can't be! _She met the eyes of her friend and saw only a modicum of remorse in them before the other girl skated her gaze away.

It was all the confession that Ahsoka needed to feel like someone had just thrown a bucket of ice water on her when she wasn't looking.

Not even the Council's cold treatment had left her feeling so betrayed.

_Force. How could she? How could she have set ME up in such a cruel fashion? I thought we were friends. Has it all been a lie? _

"Barriss Offee, member of the Jedi order, and traitor." Anakin's voice was colder than the ice of Ilum as he introduced the Mirialan Padawan.

Ahsoka still couldn't quite believe it. Not that she thought Anakin would deliberately bring the wrong person, but it was so much easier to think of Ventress as the evil one as opposed to someone she'd considered to be one of her closest friends. Her throat was tight with emotion when she asked in a strangled voice, "Barriss, is that true?"

Barriss wouldn't meet her gaze.

If she wasn't under observation, Ahsoka might have cried right then.

Anakin, furious on her behalf when she couldn't hide her pain from him, gave Barriss his patented 'talk or die' tone as he growled out, "Tell them the truth!"

Barriss, not stupid by any means, fully believed the killing rage that was in Anakin's eyes and practically radiated from every tense muscle in his body. She glanced at him for only a second before she stepped forward proudly. "I did it." Her voice rang loud and clear as she continued to speak over the mass inhale that almost everyone took in surprise and she bravely met the eyes of everyone in the room - Council members included. "Because I've come to realize, what many people in the Republic have come to realize, is that the Jedi are the one's responsible for this war. That we've so lost our way, that we have become the villains in this conflict. That WE are the ones that should be put on trial. All of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become; an army fighting for the Dark side, fallen from the Light that we once held so dear. This Republic is falling! It's only a matter of time."

The tribunal chamber was dead silent for a few heartbeats before Palpatine's disgusted voice called out, "Take her away."

Everyone watched in continued stunned silence as the proud young woman was escorted out by the Temple Guards. Ahsoka could practically feel Obi-Wan and maybe half of the other present Council members stew over Barriss' words. Anakin didn't look like he'd registered any of it yet, but when he calmed down, it would come back, and Ahsoka had a feeling he would think long and hard on what Barriss had said. She knew she already was.

Because, despite the fact that Barriss had gone about it the wrong way, she was right about one thing:

The Jedi were anything but Peacekeepers now.

The world she knew now was nothing like what she'd been taught as a youngling. _When had the Jedi turned into fighters? And not just within the war, but within themselves? What is the Order coming to when one of the gentlest Jedi feels the need to act out in such a malicious way to make her point?_

The Chancellor focused his attention on Ahsoka after the Temple Guards had led Barriss away. "Ahsoka Tano." (Even now, after being cleared, he still said her name with disdain. _Why? Why has he always disliked me so much?_) "In light of the confession of Padawan Barriss Offee, you are free to go."

As her platform moved back towards where Anakin stood, Ahsoka really didn't know what to think now. She was cleared of the charges, but at the cost of losing a friend. It just didn't feel like the victory it should have beenl.

Ahsoka met her Master's relieved blue eyes as she stepped onto the platform beside him. They said nothing out loud, not wanting to talk in front of the Senators that were still milling around and mumbling to each other up in their shallow balconies, but she thanked him through the bond and he sent back his relief that he'd made it in time.

As soon as one of the two remaining Coruscant Guard removed her binders, they walked out of the tribunal chamber shoulder to shoulder, a united force against anything that tried to separate them, but Ahsoka wasn't sure how long that was going to last. She'd still been kicked out of the Order, and frankly, she wasn't entirely convinced that she wanted back in.

* * *

Once out in the hallway and away from judging eyes, Ahsoka flung herself at Anakin, relishing the feel of his strong arms holding her close as he caught her. "Thank you, Master," she said into his tunic. "They were just about to declare me guilty and sentence me to execution."

Anakin sucked in a breath at hearing that and hugged her tighter in apology as he rested his cheek lightly against her montral. "I'm so sorry, Snips. I was so worried I wouldn't be in time. I broke about a hundred traffic laws for you."

Ahsoka pulled back and grinned at him wearily. "That's nothing new. You break traffic laws anytime you feel like it."

Anakin shrugged unapologetically, a smirk playing with his mouth. "Yes, well. This time was a lot more than normal. I even had a pack of droid cops following me with their sirens blaring."

Ahsoka laughed, happy to lose herself in the simple banter and not think too much about what was yet to come.

Padmè came rushing around the corner, relief on her face. "Ahsoka! I'm so glad that worked out." She stopped beside her young friend and gave her a quick hug, regardless of how filthy Ahsoka's clothes were.

"Thank you, Padmè. Thank you for trying. I know you did everything you could to clear me."

Padmè smiled sadly at the girl. "If it wasn't for Anakin..." She glanced up at her husband, sending him her gratitude and love with her eyes.

Anakin blushed slightly, glancing at the floor as he mumbled, "I just did what I had to. Ventress was actually helpful, believe it or not. Barriss stole her lightsabres and pretended to be her in the warehouse. Her biggest mistake was keeping them." He pulled the two curved lightsabres out from the back of his belt and looked at them ruefully before putting them back. "Now I have to give them back to her, and that grates something awful."

He shrugged with a crooked grin on his lips at Ahsoka as she giggled out, "Poor Master."

"But she did help you, and actually seems to kind of like you now, weirdly enough. I can't, in good conscious, keep them."

"No, you can't," Obi-Wan's voice floated down the hallway as he approached from around the same corner Padmè had emerged from. "As much as I would like to personally space those wretched things, she did help our little Padawan and we owe her them back at the very least."

Anakin and Ahsoka rolled their eyes at each other and smirked at Obi-Wan's dry and disgusted tone.

He came to a stop on the other side of Ahsoka and touched her shoulder for a moment in remorse. "I am sorry, Ahsoka, that I couldn't do more to help you. Thank the Force our Anakin is so good at disobeying orders."

Ahsoka smiled sadly at her grandmaster, feeling guilty for blocking him out earlier. "I understand, Master. I'm sure you did what you could."

"Did you really?" Anakin mumbled under his breath, but everyone heard him anyway.

Padmè shot him a chiding look that he ignored.

Ahsoka shook her head at him. _"Master…"_

_"Not now, Snips."_

She huffed at him.

Obi-Wan sighed softly at the accusation in Anakin's eyes. _We're_ _going to have to work this out later. Alone. But for now... _"The Council wants to see you, Ahsoka, in the Temple. We're to go there immediately."

"Yes, Master," Ahsoka said obediently, hiding a sigh at her dashed hopes of going to her quarters and taking a long shower and getting a change of clothes. It had been days since she'd seen a shower and the places she'd been since then... Well, let's just say she had a distinct aroma wafting from her that was not her own.

"You too, Anakin," Obi-Wan said over his shoulder as he turned towards the exit of the building.

Anakin rolled his eyes at his Master's back. "As if I'd let them at you without me being there," he muttered to Ahsoka, making her snort in amusement. He sighed and strode after Obi-Wan.

Ahsoka was about to do the same, but Padmè's hand on her arm stopped her. She raised a brow marking in inquiry.

The older female glanced furtively at the men who'd stopped to see what the holdup was and then whispered, "Lux told me to tell you that he's on his way. If he doesn't find you, you can come see him at my apartment."

Ahsoka beamed at Padmè, her chest filling with joy to hear that Lux was coming for her. "Thank you. I'll come see you later, regardless."

Padmè smiled happily and then waved her off.

Ahsoka had to suppress the new bounce in her step as she caught up to Anakin and Obi-Wan. "She was just inviting me to her apartment later for a small celebration when I get the chance," she explained before they could ask questions.

As they walked together to Anakin's speeder, Ahsoka thought about the Human boy who had worked his way into her affections within an hour or so of meeting him.

It wasn't like her friendship with him was a big secret or anything, so there was no real need for subterfuge in seeing him, but Ahsoka felt different now then she had a few days ago. Almost like she honestly couldn't care less if she kept to the Jedi code anymore or not because she felt betrayed and essentially spat on by the Council. Which meant she had no idea what she'd do when she saw Lux.

_Leap on him is a high possibility, _she thought with an inward grin.

_It's probably best to keep his impending visit to myself for now until I hear what the Council has to say._

After escaping from prison, she'd been so tempted to jump on a ship and go to Onderon and hide from her problems in Lux's home, knowing he'd welcome her in an instant, but Ahsoka had known if she'd done that, she'd never be able to live with herself.

She'd also had to fight with herself over whether or not to comm him about what was happening, but she knew he'd come galloping to her rescue and would talk her into going into hiding, and again, she just couldn't do that.

So she'd left poor Lux in the dark. _He must have found out on his own anyway. And he's still coming galloping to the rescue._

Ahsoka sighed internally over how sweet that was. She'd been tempted, oh so tempted, in the past to give in to her feelings for Lux and tell him how she felt about him, but her ingrained Jedi teachings had always held her back. She'd wished she could be like Anakin and just throw the no attachment rule to the wind and have a secret relationship with Lux the same way Anakin did with Padmè, but she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hide it like he did.

Now... Well, now she was going to wait and see how the next half hour played out. It might not even be necessary for her to do anything secretive. But she did have one resolve firmly set in her mind; the minute she saw Lux in a private setting, she was telling him how she felt about him. If she rejoined the Order, then she'd do what Anakin did and keep it a secret. If she didn't... then the Order could go hang itself and she was going to have her happily ever after with Lux.

She was ninety-nine percent sure that Lux would be totally on board with that. Because, except for the brief period after she'd told him they could never be more than friends and he'd sort of pursued Steela Gerrera as a way to cover his hurt, he'd never shown any interest in any other girls. She also had a fairly good grasp of his feelings because he wasn't very good at hiding them, and she knew he loved her.

Right now, that thought was enough to give her the courage to continue onwards and face the Council that had discarded her word and thrown her out like trash.

* * *

With Anakin driving, the trip to the Temple was over quickly and the next thing she knew, Ahsoka was standing in the big High Council chamber, surrounded by the wisest and best the Jedi Order had that weren't currently away fighting in the war.

She didn't feel safe at all and she wondered when the people she'd looked up to the most had become like strangers to her.

Yoda was the first one to break the uncomfortable silence. "Brought you here to rectify a wrong, we have. Acted hastily, we did, and sorry we are."

_This is a good start. Maybe this won't be so bad. _Ahsoka smiled at the old Master that she'd always adored. Yoda had been one of her teachers for as long as she could remember and would always occupy a soft spot in her heart.

Master Plo spoke next, sending his sincerest regrets over their light bond and she couldn't help but smile at him as well. "You have our most humble apologies, little Soka, the Council was wrong to accuse you."

Like Anakin and Obi-Wan, Master Plo was someone she was pretty sure she could forgive almost anything, and she told him that with her eyes and through the Force. She could feel the relief he sent back and the hidden smile he wore behind his mask.

Master Tiin continued. "You have shown such great strength and resilience in your struggle to prove your innocence." Ahsoka gave him a slight smile as well, thanking him for recognizing her determination.

_Maybe I CAN rejoin the Order. So far, everyone seems very sincere in their remorse._

"This is the true sign of a Jedi Knight," Master Ki-Adi-Mundi added.

Ahsoka blinked. _Wow. That actually makes me feel a little bit better yet. I've worked my whole life to become a Knight; should I really throw that away? Especially if they're offering to let me take my trials early. That would be pretty sweet. _

But then Master Windu opened his mouth and ruined it all, radiating a sense of self-indulgent righteousness. "This was actually your Great Trial. Now we see that."

_What?! _Ahsoka crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Windu like he'd lost his mind.

_That's a load of poodoo. That was no Knighting Trial. That was you being an arsehole and not believing me. I don't want to be handed my Knighthood as a bribe because you all made a mistake and are now regretting it. If Windu can't man up enough to apologize properly like everyone else, he can take his bantha poodoo and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. _

_I don't think I want to be part of an Order that condones mass slavery, fights wars ruthlessly, are blind to their own faults, and gives into the pressure of the Republic government at the drop of a hat anyway. _

The supposed Jedi Master continued, oblivious to her swiftly changing mood. "We understand that the Force works in mysterious ways. And because of this Trial you have become a greater Jedi then you would have otherwise."

Ahsoka looked from one face to the next and saw that this wasn't a surprise to them. They'd actually talked about this and thought they could buy her forgiveness with a quick Knighting that would mean absolutely nothing to her. _Kriff that._

"Back into the order, you may come."

_Master Yoda says that as if I voluntarily left it!_

Between what Barriss had said earlier, Windu's stupid quick fix, and Yoda's words now, she'd reached the end of her rope. _They should be begging me to come back, not giving me this condescending excuse of a ceremony._ Ahsoka was not pleased, not at all.

She glanced at Obi-Wan, since he was with them in the speeder and couldn't have known what the rest of the Council had been talking about. He seemed shocked and dismayed and she saw the dawning realization in his eyes that the Council had just blown it big time. They didn't know her at all if they thought she wouldn't want to earn her Knight status the same way everyone else did; the hard way.

Ahsoka looked at Anakin next, and she knew that he knew that the Council had just made a very big mistake as well, but he tried to fix it. Oh, how he tried to fix it. He was literally begging her through their bond to forgive the Council Idiots as he said out loud, "They're asking you back, Ahsoka. I'M asking you back," and held out the Silka beads that had been torn painfully off her head yesterday.

Ahsoka stared at those beads for endless moments, thinking about what they represented; her bond with Anakin, all her hard work, her status as a Jedi, and then she gently closed his hand over the beads and looked him in the eyes with all the regret in her soul for him to see, knowing exactly how much what she was about to say was going to hurt him. "I'm sorry, Master, but I'm not coming back."

_"This isn't the place for me. Like Barriss said, the Jedi have lost their way and I refuse to let them drag me with them down the Dark stream to hell."_

_"Ahsoka... Please."_

Despite the nearly crippling pain tearing across their bond and the look of absolute misery and betrayal in his eyes, Ahsoka turned and left Anakin and the Council behind before she burst into tears in front of them. It was all she could do to walk calmly away from them and not let her tumultuous emotions bleed into the Force for everyone to feel.

Her only thought was, _Away. Must get away._

* * *

Anakin held back a whimper as the doors closed behind Ahsoka and his fist clenched around her beads. He shot a furious glare at Windu for ruining everything and at Obi-Wan for letting this happen and then ran after her.

* * *

Obi-Wan's heart was breaking for both of his Padawans and he desperately wanted to follow them and make everything all better.

He almost did, but Plo held him back with a sad shake of his head and he realized the older Jedi Master was right: _Anakin and Ahsoka need a few moments to themselves first. I'll talk to them later and beg on my knees if I have to to get them to forgive me for not being able to prevent any of their pain. _

For the third time in the last half year, Obi-Wan almost hated the Jedi Council that he was a part of.

_Something desperately needs to change with the Council if I'm going to stay on it. I can't keep letting my family down like this. _

He felt like he was on the verge of losing his bond with Anakin and that would hurt every bit as much as losing Satine and Qui-Gon had.

Obi-Wan wasn't sure he could survive a third devastating loss.


End file.
